Silver Lining
by TheBlueFoxtrot A Samba
Summary: June is pressed into service for the Order of the White Lotus and serving under Piandao. It could be worse, she reminds herself; it could be Iroh.
1. The Job

**I have no business starting another story. Really, I don't. Like, you don't even know how much I don't.**

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><p><em>If your time ain't nothing but money, I start to feel really bad for you, honey.<em>

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><p>Understandably, June had been wary about taking jobs from Fire Nation clients after that whole business with Creepy Grandpa and Angry Boy, especially nobility types. The thing with that though, she was cutting herself off from some serious cash, which she was in desperate need of; there was this shop in Olkina that had these boots…<p>

So when this uptight lieutenant of the Fire Folk persuasion presented a case about some supposed spy or traitor, June considered it. When they agreed to pay her – extremely inflated – price, she accepted. Find a man by the name of Nezumi and bring him in alive. He wasn't a bender or much skilled with a weapon, to hear them talk.

It was bound to be an easy job.

That's what she thought anyway.

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><p>Piandao sat against the wall and thought about his locale. He was never sure whether he liked the Earth Kingdom or not. It wasn't quite that he minded the differences most days or the people generally, and the climate was much less humid here. However, in the Fire Nation, he didn't have quite as many as the bad feelings he'd experienced earlier that afternoon. The feeling was akin to walking on along a quiet path, sun shining, birds singing, a Yu Yan archer has an arrow aimed for the head.<p>

He'd scanned the forest on either side of him. Of course there had been no Yu Yan, probably; the area was too far out of their territory. It hadn't been exactly _that_ feeling but close. He'd felt this before but couldn't identify it. The memory had glided at the edge of his mind, and he'd worried for a moment. He wasn't _old_ enough for this!

His ostrich horse had chattered, prancing to the left side of the road. Piandao murmured to his mount, glad that at least it seemed to agree with him and he wasn't in fact going senile and paranoid. Before he could ponder the thought that he preferred his premonitions to be confirmed by a dumb animal than believe he was going senile, he been abruptly reminded precisely what the feeling was. It was the forewarning that something hungry for blood and gold was breathing down his neck. It had been some years, before his stand in Shu Jing, since anyone had actively tried to hunt him. He couldn't be blamed for forgetting.

One thing he hadn't forgotten was to strike the first blow. Whenever a fight was inevitable – and the feral grin on her face and slobbering jaws of her animal convinced him this one was – hit first. If she hadn't ducked, then it would have been a remarkably short confrontation.

The woman was young, skilled, and ruthless, but with some effort, he'd bested her. He looked across to the other cell at her and the dark bruise at her hairline, shallow cut on her throat, and dark, glaring eyes. He'd been worried for a minute when her shirshu's tongue had tagged his ostrich horse and thought for sure it was going to eat the thing. All of his clothes were packed onto the saddle.

Fighting a woman was a change of pace from the hardened, grizzled, ugly men and stupid, young idiots he usually went up against. Aside from being good looking, this one had gotten him to work up a sweat, although a large part of that came from trying to avoid being trampled by her temperamental monster. She handled the bullwhip with a skill that reminded him of Ogodei and his chains. He didn't understand having a whip or chains as a weapon of choice, but it seemed if someone wanted to learn how to expertly kill with tea cup, they'd call it a weapon too. However, Piandao would admit that she was skilled with it – probably as much as one could be with a pastoral tool – and sported the cuts and bruises to show for it. In fact, there was one on his cheek that was probably becoming infectious as he sat in the stale-aired cell.

After that cut though, he'd stopped playing around and put an end to it. With one fluid motion, she'd gone down on her back, and he'd rested his sword at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. With a slight movement, it'd be off with her head. If looks could kill though, she would have won this right there.

She'd tensed and a familiar look came to her eyes. It was the look men had gotten when they thought 'Maybe, just _maybe_, I can take him'.

Piandao rather disliked killing women. Chivalrous or chauvinist, he hardly cared for labels.

"I wouldn't," he'd warned. "No need to get that pretty neck cut, is there?"

And about then, the patrol decided to how up – why did the cavalry _always_ come when everything was over? – and arrest her. And him too, for whatever reason. He'd tried to tell them it wasn't a domestic dispute. Fortunately, they didn't know who he was; his wanted posters had gotten his nose _completely _wrong. The overgrown beard helped that too.

_At any rate_, he wouldn't be here long. By tomorrow or maybe before, he would be well on his way. There was still plenty of time to make the meeting within the week. Simple, but not necessarily easy. That woman could be a problem. Actually, she was already a problem. It was her fault that he even had to put up with this delay. Her and her shirshu.

And now the woman was glaring venom and barbwire at him. It was awkward and uncomfortable. Those were the two reasons he usually avoided small talk, but it was already there so maybe it'd be less so if he tried it.

"So…I didn't catch your name before."

"Catch this."

She gave him a rude gesture. Then the woman turned away from him and stared at the wall, pouting and ignoring him. Piandao rolled his eyes.

"Right. Not in a talkative mood. That's perfectly understandable. However, I was wondering about my ostrich horse here, and how long his paralysis will last. I'd rather not have to buy another one if it's not permanent."

She stared at Piandao blankly for a moment.

"A while."

Well, that was helpful.

"Thank you."

"Whatever. And for the record, if those earthbenders hadn't stepped in, I would have taken you down."

"Of course," he agreed quickly.

Maybe he was being condescending, just a little.

"_Don't_ patronize me."

"I'm not." Oh, yes, he was. "Oh, no, not at all. You had me at your complete mercy. Except for when I had my blade at your _throat_."

"_That _only happened because of the earthbenders."

He couldn't help but smirk a little. Not to be arrogant, but did she _know _who he was? He would admit that she was good, but he was better. Age and experience had its upside, after all.

"Whatever you say."

Her glare would have leveled a lesser man. It just made Piandao want to antagonize her more. He resisted the temptation but smiled wider.

* * *

><p>June <em>still<em> hadn't quite figured out how the situation had gone so wrong so fast. A large caterpillar roach scrambled out of a hole, and she squashed it with a tin cup.

She _hated_ bugs. She was beginning to hate Fire Nation clients even more though. Not skilled with a weapon, he said.

Nezumi probably wasn't his name either. She would see that lieutenant pay for the misinformation, if not in gold then with his teeth. June didn't know about other bounty hunters, but she took being lied to personally.

Nezumi. He looked familiar, but she could swear she'd never met him before. Nothing terribly memorable about him other than his height. Maybe from a wanted poster, _maybe_, but nothing clear came to mind.

What else had that sneaky little rat not told her?

The swordsman hadn't batted an eye when she and Nyla first approached him, but his ostrich horse had frozen for a moment. Nyla tagged it and down he went.

She'd dismounted, and before she could take a step forward, the swordsman had taken a swing at her, she'd ducked, and he'd cut Nyla. Baby kinda got a little…hysterical about it and threw a hissy fit – and that was why Dad had said keeping the 'mangy fluff ball' was a bad idea and how she 'better not come cryin' to him when it stepped on her'.

It was embarrassing, actually. First losing to a bunch of kids who'd barely hit puberty and getting beat by an old man. She didn't know if she was losing her touch, but she'd determined that after this one, there would be no more Fire Nation jobs.

She actually meant it this time.

The fight was something like a blur, and she remembered snatches of it here and there. At one point, she'd been doing really well, but looking back, it seemed like he'd been toying with her. The next moment - and she still has no clue how - she'd landed on her back in the dirt about to get her head cut off.

Then a couple of boondock cops decided that they would detain the whole lot. If she'd behaved rather than kick that one, she probably could have gotten out of it. She'd been in no mood to play the coy little woman though. Despite the earthbenders, he'd beaten her. Because of the earthbenders, she'd been saved having to own up to that loss.

But she _had_ lost.

And now she was going to have to kill that man. Reputations had died over less. In her business, reputation was everything. If it helped her pride at all, well, that would be a plus too. The lieutenant had said dead or alive, hadn't he?

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><p><strong>Ugh. What have I done?<strong>


	2. Detained

_I'm in the business of misery. Let's take it from the top._

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><p>The wall at the end of the short hall sank open, and an officer strode in. While June wouldn't go as far as call Koji a friend, she knew him well enough. Even so, it was an effort to work up a smile that didn't look like a grimace.<p>

"I've been waiting for you all day, Koji. What's it gonna take to get me outta this cell?"

"More than you got."

"How much?"

He named a price, and June did some quick calculations, taking into account what she had in her bags and what she'd be paid for this job.

"No problem. As soon as you let me out, I'll be drop off that bum, pick up my money, and swing back around here. How's that sound?"

"Like you think I'm an idiot."

It was much easier to put on a pretty smile this time, though it was probably more of a smirk.

"Am I that transparent?"

"Anyway," Koji said and deliberately turned to Nezumi – if that was even his real name – 's cell. "You're free to go."

A simple movement sank the bars into the floor, and the man stood to go and June could barely believe what she was seeing. She managed to pick her jaw off the floor in time for a response though.

"Whoa, whoa, no! Koji, it was a joke. Put him back! I _need _him."

"Darling," Nezumi said, feigning scandal. "We barely know one another."

"Call me darling again, and I'll take your eye out."

The smug look he wore gave the idea that he'd love to see her try.

"Look, June," Koji sighed. "I can appreciate your situation, but you gotta understand mine. I'm an employee. When the captain tells me to let a guy out and leave you here a couple of days, guess what I'm gonna do? Especially when the captain's my father-in-law."

She understood. Didn't mean she liked it or that he was going to get off easy for being such a mindless drone. Arguing with him would do her no good so she kept quiet and tried to glare a hole through Nezumi.

He winked at her as he walked out.

June stared at the wall the men walked through and decided then and there.

She was going to kill that man with a blunt, rusty knife, and they _would _pay her extra for his corpse.

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><p>There were ways to confound a shirshu's sense of smell. Unfortunately, Piandao had no access to any red fire pepper. Instead, he took a bath at the inn, ate a meal, and rested a few hours. It was a short delay, but one he felt he could afford to make.<p>

However, he rode his ostrich horse near to death to ensure that he'd make it to his destination with enough time to plan for the charming June's pursuit. His friend had only bought him two days' delay with the captain. Though hardier, he'd have preferred his eel hound since he could have covered twice the distance in this time. Unfortunately, eel hounds weren't native to the Earth Kingdom, and he needed to be as overlooked as possible.

If spirits or ancestors were on his side, then no Fire Nation spies had taken note of him while he'd been in town either. If he had picked up another shadow, he'd find out in a few hours when he stopped for the night. There was a river near, and a body or two found drowned was less notable then an eviscerated one.

Of course, it wouldn't matter if he suddenly developed powers of invisibility. That shirshu could still track him anywhere. He had little optimism that she was just going to give up chasing him. It'd be a little disappointing if she did.

He had never managed to have this much fun in the Army.

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><p>June could be very convincing when she wanted to be. If she couldn't talk her way out of a situation, then she could beat it black and blue or flirt out of it. It was difficult to be all that threatening or alluring when locked in a cell with dried blood in her hair. It was even harder when her hands trembled with rage and she wanted to knock a tooth out.<p>

The captain had let her out approximately twelve hours after Nezumi had left town, just as the sun went down. He'd outright refused to release Nyla and talking nonsense about keeping her for another week. The cage she was kept in was made by earth benders and barely big enough for her to turn around in, and the least he could do was give her more room. Apparently, that was asking too much. Apparently, she was getting the wrong idea that the local guard catered to the whims of drifters.

He'd said all this, and a little sack likely filled gold from Nezumi's drifter friends rode on his hip. June had walked out before she did something stupid and satisfying.

The night air hit her but did little to cool her head. She heard the revelry from the local bar two streets over and went toward it. Her money was on her saddle, her saddle was strapped on Nyla, and there was no way she could get to it now. She needed coin, a plan to get Nyla, and out of this town.

Her most tried and true method to quick money was a bet or two. She helped a stumbling drunk out the door of the bar and took eleven copper coins as his thanks.

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><p>It was amazing what a few cups of rice wine and couple of hours in a bar could do for a girl's mood. Aside from that, she now had a feasible plan better than smacking that arrogant, backward captain with a two by four. No, this plan had more…tact, although that wasn't saying much considering the former plot.<p>

However, June was rather impressed with the simple genius of her plan. After three or so arm wrestling matches, she'd bought a few rounds for the crowd. Free booze always made for easier conversation when a stranger wanted to know other people's business. She quickly learned that the dear captain was a regular here.

"Jugo don't drink much and never nothin' too strong," a stocky, little man told her. "His wife don't like it, but she don't like much of anything. She's pretty enough, but with the way she runs her mouth, it's hardly worth it. Her father's the local magistrate too so there's a lot of power around here with that family."

"I'd find a way to make it worth it," someone called out, earning a chorus of agreement from the other men.

"How much is not much?"

A stub of a finger tapped his empty cup. June topped it off and he downed in three seconds.

"That much and a half."

She poured him a half.

"Any kids?" she asked.

"Nah, honey," a man-boy sidled up to her, "but I'm willin' to try for some if you are."

June looked him up and down. He was a tall, scrawny thing with baby smooth skin. She cupped his cheek, then grabbed his face and shoved him. He fell across another table and knocked a rather large, ugly fellow's drink over him. She turned back to the man who watched her warily.

"He's got a daughter married to Koji, one of the Guard. You're not gonna hurt nobody, right?"

"Please. That's not my style."

She'd moved on from there and talked to a bar girl who was just cute enough for the job. It was very easy to recruit her, given that June was particularly generous with her coin.

When the captain came in, she merely had to sit back and watch. The bar girl delivered his drink, laced with something for that extra _oomph_. June could only hope that the girl had followed her directions to only use a small amount; outside help sometimes thought that _more_ was _better_. In this case, _more _would be _dead captain and June's suspect number three_.

It took twenty minutes before he started showing signs of the drug taking effect, and the girl led him off to a back room. Shortly after, she came to June's table with a new bottle and a little circle of gold. She laid the money on the table, slipped the ring on her thumb – too big – and snatched up the bottle as she walked out.

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><p>Companions, soiled doves, ladies of the night, whatever one called them, near every town had them. As previously arranged, June met with the madam and delivered the ring for safe-keeping. Of course, even a whole houseful of women wasn't going to stop him, but the two burly earth benders who protected the brothel would.<p>

There was nothing left to do until the captain came back to the land of the living and after he realized his wedding band was gone. It might still take a while before he started to panic. In the meantime, she had just enough money for a room and a meal.

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><p>Naturally, he threatened her when she first approached him. Smash her hand with a rock, throw back in jail, never see the light of day. Whatever.<p>

"It really would be a shame if your wife, or your father-in-law, or people in general knew about your visits to _see_ the Madam's girls."

"I have not!"

"Your word against theirs and that little band of gold that will be delivered to - I don't know - your wife or her dad. And you know, neither one hit me as the calm, reasonable type."

Of course she hadn't met either one of them. It was possible that they both were very understanding, trusting people but June was sure that they, like the Air Monks, had gone extinct a hundred years ago.

With the way the captain's face paled, she'd assumed right.

"Here's the deal, Captain. You will let my shirshu out, we will leave with one hour's head start before you do whatever you feel compelled to do, you'll get your ring, and we're all happy."

"This is blackmail."

"Yeah, it is, and things will only escalate from here. You think anyone would be interested in learning of your secret love child?"

He sighed in defeat. June grinned. Winning was so much fun.

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><p>"Oh, my poor baby. Were the dirty, stupid men mean to you?"<p>

Nyla whined, as if seeking sympathy.

"I'm standing right here."

"Good for you, Cappie. Drop the rock already."

The cage crumbled to pieces, and Nyla shook off the excess like hard, pointy bits of water, and June ducked her head to avoid the debris. She heard a sharp cry and looked up to see the captain on the ground with Nyla looming over him, her tongue zipping back into her mouth.

"No, Nyla, you can't eat him. If you eat him, who is going to pay that nice boy at the store for all the supplies I put on the captain's tab?"

June made note of the town when she left and added it to the mental list of places she could never step foot in again. She took the scrap of bloody fabric out of her saddle bags for Nyla to get a fresh scent. Nyla charged off toward the east.

The hunt was on.


	3. Sufficient Chance

'_Are you sitting down? I need to tell you something.'_

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><p>What possible reason anyone would have to travel to Desert of the Dead, June didn't know. However, she <em>suspected<em> some kind of trafficking with the Desert Tribes. Anywhere else, it would be known as trading, but the Sandbenders really had little to no resources worth trading other than the cacti. Their chief 'resource' came from traders, merchants, and travelers fool or desperate enough to pass too close to their territory. Eventually, that would run out; people would only stand to pay those ransoms for so long before they sent an army to deal with them. The army would all die, of course, but it was the thought that counted.

After four day's ride, the familiar run down cantina of Misty Palms Oasis loomed ahead of her. The place was the only vestige of civilization for miles. Yet _civilization_ was possibly too nice a word. The only redeeming factor for June was the mango beverages the broadswordsman made.

She pulled Nyla up at the edge, just before the grassland ended at the desert. Out of the three gates, only the one was open. The conical building directly to the north housed the bar. She urged Nyla to walk toward the cantina. The moment paws stepped from grass to sand, the temperature seemed to spike up, and the wind died.

She hadn't slept properly since day one of the hunt. Her stomach fussed at her, and she'd nearly fallen asleep and off of Nyla four times. Her mind and body longed for sleep, but her stubbornness and pride argued for revenge.

However, she'd caught her second wind then her third, and the manic energy fed on her need for vengeance. Reason argued that she should rest and evaluate the situation with a clear head before charging in for the kill like a maniac. Vindication told her other side to go screw itself and urged Blood-thirst into frenzy.

Yet even louder than the violent voices cried Hunger. She'd eat first. While she did that, she would contemplate strangulation and stabbing versus an outright beatdown.

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><p>As she rode in, her eyes automatically went to the wanted posters pinned to a stand. All were for the Fire Nation, and three she recognized. The bratty Avatar, banished Prince pouty, traitor General Prince Creepy. Three she never wanted to see again.<p>

June dismounted Nyla and left her ground-tied. Whip on her side, she fingered the knife hidden beneath the belts at her waist. She walked into the bar, scanning the patrons, and immediately stepped back outside. There had been three people from the wanted posters she recognized. Two were inside, one glaring at the other playing Pai Sho.

It only took a moment to think that through. She was already dedicated to mounting Nezumi's head on a spike. As skilled as she was, she didn't think she could take down the Dragon of the West and his temperamental nephew at same time. With great reluctance and stomach rumbling, June led Nyla away from the saloon and hid her. She did not need confrontation with them now, and they had to leave sometime. That, and Iroh just plain freaked her out. In the meanwhile, pig-ox jerky would have to hold her.

Three jerky strips later, and June saw the two plus one running out of there and the sounds of a fight. By the time a body flew out a window, they were nowhere in sight.

June suddenly missed her tavern.

The wind suddenly picked up and blew eastward. Nyla suddenly stood and nosed to the west. Her man was on the move again. She was going to let Nyla eat him for that.

"Just my luck," she grumbled.

Since Nyla was close enoughto catch his scent to _tell_ that he was moving again, then it might not be wise to let him get further ahead. Though his path had been erratic, he'd seemed to have a destination. She didn't know if she could afford to let him reach it, where he'd possibly have an unknown number of resources and fortifications. June watched Nyla twitch anxiously and glanced longingly at the bar. Once she mounted Nyla, she might have popped the whip with more force than necessary.

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><p>Piandao stood at the top of a sand dune and rested his hand on his sheathed blade. He looked out to the desert sky as the light waned. Already, the air was cooling, but heat rose from the baked sand. He'd arrived in time and now…<p>

Now, he was waiting for _her_. Word had been received via messenger hawk – Yes, only Fire Nation military were authorized to use them. Point? – that June was making rapid progress in tracking him. She should be in the area within ten hours. He'd received news of that nine and a half hours ago.

The sun dipped below the horizon. A rider approached.

Why couldn't _all _of their information be this flawless?

Piandao made his way down the dune toward her, half walking, half sliding.

"Still haven't given up?" he called out to her.

Engaging in banter was a useful tool that few utilized or if they did, not well. If your opponent was talking, they weren't attacking. If they were talking, then maybe – just _maybe, perhaps in a blue moon, wish upon a star –_ a fight might be avoided altogether. Or at the very least, delayed.

June reined her shirshu in some yards from him and began to circle him.

"'Course not. I've got a job to do, and I am sort of obligated to kill you now." She was behind him. "Reputation is everything in this business, you know. Nothing personal." As she rounded in front of him, she rolled her eyes and laughed. It was almost a giggle. "Oh, who am I kidding? It's totally personal."

Piandao allowed himself a smile as he scratched his chin through his overgrown beard. He _really_ should shave that soon.

"I thought you might feel that way. Planned for it, actually."

He lifted his hand.

Three men revealed themselves from their hiding spots, sloughing off sand as hands grasped and pulled at air. The sand burst and swelled over Nyla and June. It fell on them like an ocean wave and formed a solid ball around them. Piandao could hear muffled yelling from inside and stepped closer to it while the Sandbenders took a moment to stretch.

He ran his hand across the solid orb of sand, only a few grains falling off. He knocked it three times. An impact from the inside made the whole thing shudder.

"Are you certain they're getting enough air in there?"

The Sandbenders peered at him silently. One turned his head and spat out sand.

"Right," he drawled. "Bring her."

* * *

><p>In the back room of a little used flower shop, three men sat in a circular, stone room on fluffed cushion. In the center, an imprint of a lotus bloomed from the floor. There was a door, but when two more men entered the room, they came up through a staircase in the floor.<p>

"You're late," Jeong Jeong said before the earthbender had left and sealed the floor.

"So nice to see you too," Piandao replied. "Bumi, I'm surprised you were able to sneak away."

"Heh, I wouldn't miss this," the ancient man grinned, pulling at his scraggly beard. "The timing was just too perfect."

"Grand Lotus Iroh."

Piandao bowed, flame above fist.

"Piandao," the retired general waved Piandao to sit. "I hope you don't mind that we went ahead with a few things during your absence. I've been informed that you were followed?"

"A bounty hunter woman. She'll be dealt with afterwards."

"Oh? By the name of June?"

"Yes, Grand Lotus. Why do you ask?"

"I believe fate has handed us a very interesting hand. I think we'll discuss her situation first."

A sense of foreboding rose as Iroh's smile widened. No doubt Bumi sensed it as well and let out an insane cackle. Maybe he could have afforded to miss this meeting after all.

* * *

><p>Nyla was not domestic. While June had done her very best to tame the animal and usually succeeded, Nyla was still a wild animal. An animal that did not like being chained down with sand-turned-hardened stone cuffs and collars in enclosed spaces. Her tongue lashed out at the air. She roared and strained against her restraints.<p>

June, her hands and legs bound in stone, had shuffled herself into a corner while Nyla thrashed around. Despite the noise and considering how she'd forced her body to stay awake the past few days, it was a matter of course that'd she fall asleep the moment she stopped moving. However, her father had trained her to be a light sleeper – she'd come to associate the sound of a snapped twigs with being smacked in the face with a wet rag. She awoke when Nyla's irritated growls took on a more aggressive tone.

Her eyes snapped open, scanning her dark prison. The earth rumbled, and light shone through a crack that snaked up the wall. The crack spidered out and crumbled away, revealing two men with wild hair. The taller one lifted his hand, and the earth shifted around her, and he yanked, and then she was in front of them. The short one cupped a flame in his hand, and June said nothing, doing her best to hold back a yawn.

She scowled. The firebender glared. The earthbender giggled. Beyond them, she could see a series of tunnels leading away from this chamber. Light glowed from the halls, and she'd bet ten gold pieces that it was one giant, earthbent maze.

"I'm sure you're wondering _why_ you're here," the earthbender said.

"…among several other things."

"We," he drew himself up imperiously, "are the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."

"No, we're not," the firebender snapped. "Stop _telling_ people that."

"You can't tell me what to do. I outrank you."

The firebender's entire body visibly twitched.

Was this for real? She hadn't got hit in the head, so it couldn't be a concussion. Maybe the sleep deprivation was messing with her mind, and she was hallucinating. It was a total mystery as to why these two men she'd never seen other than on posters were featured.

"You're the Mad King Bumi," she said slowly and slightly disbelieving. "And _you're_ Jeong Jeong the Deserter."

"Hear that, J.J? We're famous."

"Despite my aversions to such, I willsear your head from your neck if you evercall me J.J again."

Okay, now this was just getting weird.

"I thought the Fire Nation had you in lockdown," she nodded her head toward Bumi.

"Oh, they do." He snorted with laughter. "I'm at their complete mercy!"

June knew that there was a story behind the supposed-to-be-imprisoned king's presence, and so far from his city too. She couldn't be concerned with that now because blood had stopped circulating to her hands _hours_ ago.

"If we could get back to the point," Jeong Jeong said irritably, and the flame in his hand flared up slightly.

"Sure, sure. Since you're just such a busy man and all…"

* * *

><p>She didn't know if it was because she was still half-sleep, or because the entire thing was crazy, but June had a hard time following them. However, she believe she'd caught the gist of it.<p>

First of all, Nezumi was Piandao. As in, the man who slayed one-hundred of Azulon's Imperial firebenders. She was going to absolutely murder that lieutenant. 'Not much skilled with a weapon', he'd said.

There was an Order of the White Lotus. She didn't really understand what they did. Anarchists maybe. They were far too secretive to simply be labeled as an outright rebel organization.

She had absolutely zero chance of winning a fight against them. Even if Nyla weren't tied up at the moment, these guys were Masters. They were in a cave, and those things were usually made of earth. And Jeong Jeong...he'd apparently grown tired of sustaining the flame above his hand, and now three separate orbs of fire floated in the air. Just _there_. Like that was normal or something. June had total confidence in her abilities, but she'd admit - only to herself - that she was slightly in over her head.

Even though they'd loaded her with information, there was obviously a lot they weren't telling her.

At any rate, these men considered her some kind of threat threat and left her with a choice. Align herself with them or die. They hadn't put it as bluntly as that, but that was the general vibe.

"I'm in."

Of course, it couldn't just be that easy.

"There is one absolutely essential requirement," Jeong Jeong said.

Despite the likelihood of being the center of an inferno, June wanted to smack that man. It was always 'One more thing' with him.

"And that would be…?"

Bumi turned his hand palm down and pushed; the stone that bound June sank into the earth, and needles stabbed her hands.

"You must…" he tensed his hand and lifted; earth rose up to form a game board, and the king's grin was insanely bright, "beat one of us at Pai Sho!"

Jeong Jeong pulled a small, drawstring bag from his sleeve and set it on the board. June kept her face completely neutral. Because this whole thing wasn't completely crazy, and it was perfectly normal to kidnap a woman who was just trying to do her job and force her to join crazy gang where people carry Pai Sho tiles around all the time.

"I get to pick?" she asked.

"Me or J.J!"

"Bumi…" the firebender warned evenly.

June had looked between the two men. Jeong Jeong was the Deserter. The way his name was spoken, the legend he'd become, one would think that the man had defected from Sozin's right hand. He'd been running around the Earth Kingdom, evading capture for years. That implied a strategic mind.

On the other hand, Bumi had defended Omashu's walls for the last millennium practically until just recently. When he simply let the Fire Nation troop in and let them arrest him. From what she'd heard, security was tight. Something about a metal coffin suspended above a fire pit. But he was here. And insane.

So…

"I pick Jeong Jeong."

Bumi pouted and snapped his fingers.

"Then let us play."

"Lettuce?"

As the game began, the mad king began munching on a stem that he could have only pulled from out of his baggy robes. June had stopped knowing what was going on a while ago and disregarded that quirk accordingly.

* * *

><p>June despised old men. As of two minutes ago when she'd lost to that smug geezer and was forced to zone out on his droning of her 'expectations'. Spirits and ancestors, he talked as much as her dad. But then, something he said caught her attention.<p>

"Wait, what did you just say?"

Jeong Jeong shot her a glare; apparently, he didn't like repeating himself. She made a special note of that.

"Your duties as a lotus bud will be as that of an apprentice. In that regard –"

"Not that part. The part about who I'm workin' with."

"Piandao. The Grand Lotus believes that you two will work well together."

"That's what I thought you said," she grumbled, running a hand through her hair. "Have you people taken complete leave of your senses?"

The two men exchanged a look.

"Not all of them..."

"I refuse to work with that man," she glowered at them, but they remained unmoved.

"That's certainly your choice," Bumi said. "However, considering your newly inducted status, it'd be far too easy for you to fall sway to some other cause. In which case, you'll be assigned to dealing with the archives. It's honestly in your best interest if you have Piandao to sponsor you."

"And really? It's funnier this way," Bumi stage-whispered to her.

Very suddenly, June just wanted to sleep, strangle a man, eat, drink a lot of whiskey, and not _even_ in that order.


End file.
